Rat Park Research Paper

It is shown that people that tend to be involved in the use of drugs do so after making a voluntary choice (Heyman, 2009). The major use of drugs for social and non-medical preferences can lead to dependence and further addictions, it is a choice that people tend to make and from that it can lead to wanting it more, do it more with friends and further it becoming an addiction, that then effects the brain and body. When drugs are used in the wrong way they can cause many health issues but some people still tend to refer to drug addiction as a disease. Yes, There has been compelling evidence that addiction is a disease, however the result shown are weak and inconclusive. Results of different brain scans are shown by The National Institute of Drug Abuse (2017) are used to back up that addiction in fact is a disease, however the brain scans used in this research are not symbolic of any abnormal changes. The research by The National Institute of Drug Abuse do point out that changes in an individual’s brain is shown as evidence that addiction is a brain disease, however this argument can be shown as mistaken as changes in many human brains can be seen as not exclusive in addicts, although they can occur when a person is normal (Branch,2011). To top it off the information that is stated by the NIDA however doesn’t show evidence of the behaviour of addicts being involuntary or

The article, “Rat Park,” is about a study about being addicted to drugs. In the article they talk about Alexander’s hypothesis that drugs do not cause addiction, but it's based on the living conditions a person is living in. The experiment was taken on rats, where some live caged in and and another set lived in the rat park. The experiment in the article shows, “. . . successfully showed that rats will resist even the most irresistibility delivered drug if it interferes with the alternatively gratifying opportunities available to them” (Slater). In the cage the rats would take the water with the drug, while in the rat park, the rats had the option to drink plain water or water with the drug. The rats who had the option of which type of liquid they want, would choose the liquid without the drug. Having this experiment done gave Alexander a conclusion about addiction. It states, “Alexander’s research suggests that addictions are in fact quite subject to free will” (Slater). The people studied on rats on how they are the type of animal are kind of close to humans, well on how they body system works. Every human has the right to be free, but are the humans really deciding base what they think is right.

Is being addicted to drugs just an effect from doing them or is it simply a choice that is made? Drugs have been and still are a part of our world and have been popularized since the 1960s. A drug is a substance which has a psychological effect when ingested into the body. The use of drug addiction can vary depending on the person. For example, it could be out of curiosity, peer pressure, to change their performance around others, reducing stress or depression. In chapter 7 “Rat Park” of Slater’s book Opening Skinner’s Box gives us a brief discussion about figuring how to get people who are hooked on drugs a way out, through the process of using rats in two different experiments. Furthermore, in the article The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been

Brain chemistry can affect different addicts more then others. Drugs and alcohol are more of the main addictions that brain chemistry affects. Once taking these addictive substances your internal natural drug dopamine is lowers causing you to seek more external addictive substances. This causes craving and makes it a lot harder for the addict to stop. In Olds and Milner’s later experiments, they allowed the rats to press a particular lever to arouse themselves, to the effect that they would press it as much as seven-hundred times per hour. This region soon came to be known as the "pleasure center". Using drugs and alcohol stimulates the pleasure center in the brain that makes your brain think, “feels good- want more“. This can make it increasingly harder for an addict to stop using, until they hit a point called “rock bottom”. This is where choice comes back into play.

To understand addiction further, it is important to look at how drugs have neurological effects in a human body. Drugs can be ingested in various ways; while some are taken orally, some are smoked (cannabis) while others are injected directly into the blood stream (Heroin). Once in the body, they mainly affect the reward pathway in the brain, known as the dopaminergic pathway, which in turn gives pleasure. Even though all drugs affect the reward and motivation pathways in the brain, their speed depends on the way the drug has been consumed. Over constant use of drugs, the cognitive functions are impaired as the effects become more prominent in learning, memory

It is paramount to attempt to understand why individuals become ‘addicts’/ drug dependent, as in doing so treatments and therapies may be adopted in line with the needs of the drug dependent individual. A greater understanding in the area of causality may produce more effective interventions at earlier stages of drug misuse.

The definition provided above is accessible and easy to understand; however, it initiates false beliefs among individuals because it fails to acknowledge that drug addiction is a mental health problem. Moreover, when words such as, “dependence”, “control” and “craving” are used to define drug addiction, it leaves an impression to the reader that addicts are indeed “people who cannot control their impulses.” Consequently, when we fail to recognize that drug addiction is a mental health problem, our focus is diverted towards the physical aspect of drug addiction. This could cause the belief among individuals that drugs alone cause the addiction. It is essential to acknowledge that there are chemical hooks in drugs; however, individuals need to understand that drugs alone do not cause the addiction. We need to identify and distinguish the “root cause” of addiction and ask ourselves: what caused the individual to take the drug in the first place?

Addicts use drugs to overcome their feelings. If an addict is feeling sad, happy, or angry, they use. This leads to their addictions. After a while, the addict can’t hold a steady job,

Considering the entirety of your post, I agree that the Rat Park about Bruce Anderson's addiction study seemed complicated. I found that breaking it down into smaller chunks and relating it to "The Power of Habit" situation with Angie Bachmann helped. In fact, I considered my mom being Angie as she left a career and raised her three kids and now she is trying to figure out what to do. She could have ended up looking for excitement and acceptance similar to Angie's circumstance. This may have been why I was able to look at the situation and understand how bad habits are formed out of various needs, and how the rat and the cheese study by Olds and Miner related to the Rat Park study. The rats behavior was based more on meeting their basic

There is a belief that addictions only ever occur because the human brain is triggered once a new drug is introduced and after just one usage, the brain begins to release endorphins whenever the drug is thought of or consumed. It is akin to the feeling humans get when they spot a delicious sweet they adore; the temptation to eat the dessert is strong because the endorphins released essentially trigger a desire for consumption. However, as Maté discussed in his book, In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts, there are more perspectives than just the biological one. While the aforementioned statement about endorphins and drug usage is scientifically true, it is not the only thing that causes the addiction and dependency on substances to develop. In the

Addictive drugs cause dopamine neurons to release dopamine, the pleasure hormone. The narcotics disable the neurons that would usually keep the dopamine neurons in check; becoming over stimulated. Endorphins are produced and released within the brain, creating a high and reinforcing the individual’s positive associations with the activity. Hence “the rush” (Molintas, 2006)

The main reason for being addicted to a drug is because the chemicals in it create a sense of pleasure for the user. The brain already has chemicals known as neurotransmitters which send out signals for different emotions.

The disease model: This theory states that an individual who abuses drugs requires medical treatment rather than moral punishment or exhortation. This theory also justifies spending money to research substance abuse in the same way that money is spent to research other diseases. However, usually the term disease is reserved for a state in which we can identify an abnormal biochemical or physical condition. No abnormal biochemical or physical condition has been found in the case of substance addiction, although mounting evidence suggests that some individuals are genetically predisposed to addiction more so than others. Nevertheless, this theory continues to appeal to researchers, and an intensive effort is always being made to identify the physiological “switch” that establishes addiction after exposure to a drug (Lee, 2010).

Drug addiction is a complex problem in society today. Addiction is a condition that extremely affects the person’s mind and body. Addiction also has wide sweeping effects on that person’s social connection and functioning. Unfortunately, many addicts don’t realize the social influence of their addiction until much of their functioning has greatly deteriorated.

Have you ever dealt with the effects of drug addict? A drug is a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, which has a psychological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. The effects of drug use can vary depending on the person. According to “Causes and types of narcotic addiction: A Psychosocial View” in the Psychiatric Quarterly it says, “The causes of drugs stem from the manner of which you were introduced to it whether it be by abnormal curiosity, chance encounters with addicts and narcotic peddlers, or prolonged illness” (Ausubel). The effects of drugs can be have different effects on everyone differently depending if its for pleasure or for relieving pain Most of the effects of drugs occur in the brain, where it increases the level of dopamine at a specific site possibly giving the addict the pleasure they were feigning for (Robbins). As a child I didn’t know much about drugs except for what your parents and teachers at school tell you which is, “Just Say No.”